Author's Note: I thought I'd like to try out the Durin family fic writing myself, as I enjoy the family view of Thorin, Fili and Kili. Granted, some of this is a bit more movie-verse, since movies are much better at providing visual depictions than books. Don't hate me for it. Let me know what you think.

CHAPTER 1

"Uncle?"

Thorin could feel his nephew's tiny hand clawing at his leg.

"Will mum be okay?"

Of course a child would be frightened by the screams of his mother. The birthing process wasn't comforting for anyone. It wasn't much help that the dwarfling's father had passed away just recently. A boy shouldn't go without a father so early in his life.

"Your mother will be fine, Fili." He hummed, moving to sit on the floor and better accommodate his nephew. It had been miserable. After the death of her husband—Fili's father—Dis had dissolved to nothing. Her laughs turned to sobs and her smiles to blank faces. She would often sit and stare for hours on end, ignoring the voice of her firstborn. Thorin moved in temporarily to help with her grief and Fili. It had only been a week since her husband's death and she hadn't yet found a way out of her grief.

Yes, the birthing process was worrisome as it was, but still had its own taste of happiness. This one, however, did not. The sadness hung heavy in the air and the tiny tears on Fili's face stood as a constant reminder of the loss and heartbreak that lingered in the family. It was not a feeling unfamiliar to Thorin. Dis's small family was all that he had left and the patriarch had fallen back to the stone. If he lost Dis and this new baby too...he wasn't sure if his heart could take it.

"Fili," Thorin mumbled, holding out his arms as an invitation. "come here." He watched with a sad smile as Fili climbed onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around his nephew, holding him close to his chest. He was only five, for Mahal's sake. Too young for such grief.

"What's the matter?" Thorin asked quietly as he gently wiped away Fili's tears.

"I miss dad." He whispered, another gush of tears sweeping down his face.

"I know you do. There's nothing wrong with missing your father." Thorin soothed, sweeping Fili's gold locks from his face. "I miss mine all the time." Fili twisted to look at his uncle.

"You do?"

"All the time." Thorin assured him. "Sometimes I miss him so much that I get very sad. Then I have to remember that he's gone to the Halls of Aule. He's happy there and so is your father. Someday we'll see them again and we can tell them about everything we've done and how much we missed them. But, do you think your father would want you to be sad?" Fili shook his head. "I don't think so either, little one. My father wouldn't want me to be sad all the time. But I think it's okay to be sad every now and then."

Fili looked up at him with those watery, blue orbs.

"Can I ask you a big favor, Fili?"

Fili nodded, affectionately latching on to his Uncle's arm.

"Your mother and your new sibling are going to be very weak. I mean to help them the best that I can, but I may need a little help myself. Can you do that for me? Can you help me?"

Fili gazed at him for awhile, then nodded his blonde head vigorously. Thorin knew that keeping busy often staved off his own demons and grief. It might help Fili to have a task of his own to keep the nightmares at bay.

"But, you have to promise me one thing." Thorin held up one finger as if to accentuate the number. Fili stared at him wide eyed. "If you're sad or need help, you must ask me. Because I mean to help you too." Fili smiled with a sharp nod and nestled into his uncle's chest.

"Uncle?" His voice was so small, Thorin had to hold back tears of his own.

"Yes, little one."

"Can you sing me that song? The one about the Lonely Mountain? About Erebor?"

Thorin kissed the top of his nephew's head, ignoring the screams of his sister in the birthing room.

"Of course, my dear Fili."

Thorin began to hum and ran his fingers through Fili's soft hair. His nephew relaxed, pooling into a soft lump on his lap.

"Far over the misty mountains cold," he sang, his deep voice rumbling through the air. "To dungeons deep and caverns old." Fili breathing became even and calm, slumber infiltrating his little body. Thorin sang to ensure his nephew was asleep and away from the horrors of reality. Even if it was only for a moment. He sang every word, softly guiding Fili out of his current nightmare and into sleeping bliss. As he finished his tune, he realized there were cold tears on his cheeks, mourning the dark life of such a young lad. Fili's new sibling wouldn't understand his grief. His new sibling didn't know his father like Fili did. He didn't love his father like Fili did. He would not have the same sense of loss, even if he had one of his own. Fili had to carry what his sibling didn't. How could the world be so cruel to such a young dwarrow?

Although, fate had not been kind to the line of Durin. Thorin's own grandfather was killed by the hands of the pale orc. His father, presumed dead as well. Then there was his brother. Sweet Frerin…always smiles and laughs, even when times were hard and winters were bitter. He was gone too, following after his father and grandfather. It was just Thorin and Dis now with such a precious little dwarrow sleeping in his lap. Three of them, soon to be four, if all went well.

Thorin reverently wiped the tears from his face. No, his kin would not want him to dwell on the worst times. Father would disapprove and Frerin wouldn't allow it. Thorin had to be strong for his little Fili and the little one on the way. He had to be strong because Dis could not. She needed help and he could not crumble in her time of need.

He allowed himself a wince at a heavy scream from his sister. He vaguely wondered how much of that pain was physical, or if the emotional burden had joined in.

A cry of a babe woke him from his dark thoughts, awarding him with a burst of joy in his bosom. The child had survived, at least that was known.

He looked up immediately when the door creaked open, locking eyes with Oin.

"It's a boy." Oin whispered with a kind smile crinkling the corners of his eyes. Thorin allowed himself a moment of pure, unadulterated joy before he remembered his sister.

"And Dis?"

"Weak, but healthy."

Thorin secured a sleeping Fili against his chest and moved to stand.

"May I see her?"

"She demands it." Oin muttered with a humored grin. "I think it will do her good to have you with her right now." Thorin smiled a little, carrying his nephew into the room with him.

"Thank you, Oin." He mumbled as he passed by. Oin gave him a curt nod and took his leave.

Thorin approached his sister quietly, watching as she wearily smoothed out the dark down on the babe's head.

"What will you name him?" he asked quietly, careful not to wake Fili.

"Kili." She whispered. "It was decided long before he was born."

Thorin smiled, taking a seat in one of the room's open chairs.

"A good name."

Dis looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I've been such a burden, brother."

Thorin frowned, shaking his head in immediate refusal. "You are no burden, Dis. You are my kin. I will gladly help you with whatever you need."

She sniffled, looking back down at her newborn.

"It's just…I feel so guilty. You've taken such good care of Fili this past week and you've been so patient with me."

"I find no reason not to, Dis. You are my sister and you're grieving. This is not the time for me to be short with you."

"But I wasn't even there!" she sobbed, hugging the babe closer. "I did not see him die as you did. I did not see Frerin or grandfather die as you did. How is it that I am so weak when you can be so strong?"

Thorin looked down at Fili, gently sweeping the golden threads from his nephew's eyes.

"We can't expect you to ignore the death of your husband, Dis. I did not know him and adore him as you did. For you, this loss is much greater. It's okay to mourn. I'm here for you until I'm no longer needed. Mourn as you see fit, sister. Rest and I will take care of Fili and Kili. I will take care of you."

Dis hiccupped back her cries, softly caressing Kili's cheek. They sat in a tense silence for a moment, Dis trying to ignore Thorin's concerned stare. She couldn't brave looking at her brother.

"I pray that Fili and Kili will be much like you and Frerin. Close brothers, hardly apart from each other."

"Dwarven brothers are always close." Thorin chuckled, chasing away the dreary mist in the room. He quickly thought of all the brothers he knew. "Think of Dori, Nori and Ori. Never without another, those three."

"Of course, but you and Frerin…it was different. You two were inseparable. The best of friends. I'd never seen two brothers so close."

Thorin smiled to himself. It was true. He and Frerin seemed to think alike and to operate in similar ways. They'd gotten in trouble together and had succeeded together. They were brothers until the bitter end. He looked at Kili in her arms.

"They will be. I know they will." he assured her, smiling affectionately at his sister.

Fili began to squirm against his chest, rubbing his face against Thorin's shoulder. Thorin kissed the top of his head, slowly welcoming the dwarfling into consciousness.

"Fili," Thorin whispered, combing his fingers through his nephew's small mane. The dwarfling looked up at him, blinking owlishly at his uncle.

"Wha' is it, n'cle?" he asked sleepily, using a tiny fist to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Would you like to meet your new brother?"

Fili brightened in a second, stiffening in Thorin's arms and popping eyes open with an excited clarity.

"Brother? I have a brother?"

"Of course you have a brother. Sisters are no fun at all." Thorin gave Dis a mischievous wink, earning a playful pout from his sister.

Fili jumped from his uncle's lap, running to the bedside to stare eagerly at the newborn.

"What did you call him?" he asked quietly, realizing that his brother was sleeping soundly.

"Kili." Dis angled the baby so Fili could see, resulting in a wide grin from the dwarfling.

"He looks like a little Uncle!"

Thorin coughed in surprise while Dis started to laugh heartily. Thorin watched his sister, his cough dying out as his soul swelled happily at the sight. Her joy, even if it was for but a moment, warmed Thorin's heart. It had been far too long since he'd heard her laugh like that.

"It's because of his dark hair, huh?" Dis chuckled, patting the mattress beside her for Fili to climb up.

"Yeah, they look the same." Fili observed seriously, nodding his head with an official air. With a soft grunt he pulled himself on the bed beside her. "Like how daddy and I had the same hair." Thorin stiffened, unsure of where this would put his sister. He couldn't blame her for her heavy sorrow, but it still worried him. It was not for his sister that he worried, but more for his innocent nephew. The dwarfling had to deal with the effects that his father's death had on his mother. He didn't understand why she would go silent or why she ignored him sometimes.

But, despite the mention of her husband, Dis chuckled warmly.

"Yes, just like you and dad. Kili gets the same hair as Uncle, the next best thing." she crooned, cupping Fili's cheek like she was well again. Like she was back to her usual self.

"Kili, you're lucky. Uncle's big and strong and he's the best uncle ever." Fili spoke to his brother with a very serious expression, as if he was teaching him the secret to the universe. It was easy to tell that what he said was important to him, that it was something he valued and wanted his younger brother to understand. He thought the world of his uncle and he wanted Kili to think the same. Thorin looked at the floor to hide the shine in his eyes. He wasn't sure what he'd done to earn that kind of love. He couldn't be as great as Fili seemed to believe. Of course, Fili went on, sitting cross-legged as he spoke to Kili.

"He tells the best stories and sings the best songs. My favorite song is the one about Erebor and the big dragon that lives there now. He's also big and strong and used to be a warrior. He fought in a big battle with Mr. Dwalin! Mr. Dwalin is kind of scary and big, but Uncle says we shouldn't be afraid of him. Uncle says he's a good dwarf and he'll take care of us. So, don't be afraid of Mr. Dwalin 'cause he's a nice dwarf."

Thorin smiled as Fili went on and on, telling his baby brother about Mr. Balin and Ori and their home in the Blue Mountains. He kept talking, even when his eyes grew heavy and his body began to slouch against the mattress, putting him back into sleep. Thorin took it as his cue to leave. His sister needed rest after all. Especially since she'd drifted off for a short nap of her own during Fili's long speech. He wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been watching her so closely. She had hardly moved.

Thorin approached the bed quietly as Dis blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"I'll send Oin in shortly." Thorin told Dis, gently picking up Fili and cradling him against his chest. Fili's thumb somehow found its way into his mouth and he melted against his uncle.

"Thank you, Thorin. For everything." she mumbled with a humble turn of her lips.

"Of course, Dis. There's nothing else I would rather be doing."

Carefully situating Fili, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, moving to touch his own forehead to hers in a tender gesture.

"I will be here tomorrow." he said in farewell, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

"Tomorrow." she whispered with a nod.